Surgical pump



Jan. 1L 1938. M G, PHELPS 2,105,209

SURG ICAL PUMP Filed April 25, 1954 2 sheets-sheet 1 E? v a Y m 'E E i VA== Il i t v a l Jan. 11, 193s. H Q ,5HELPS 2,105,200

' sURGlcAL PUMP Filed April 25,v 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Jan. 11, 1938 NT OFFICE Y Asummum. PUMP Y Hugh G. Phelps, Milwaukee, Wis. Y Application April 25,1934, Serial No. '722,337Y i usually accomplished through an orifice in theV tubing, or by a similar makeshift device. In these devices a food container was placed above Ythe patient and the tube containing the restriction Yflowed down by gravity through the tube. With this arrangementv the tubing has an inherent tendency to become clogged at the restriction, causing irregular feeding and a great discomfort to the patient. Y

It is-therefore a particular objectof the present invention to provide a feeding device, which feeds the liquid food positively to the patient in regular predetermined quantities, and -to eliminate'the gravity feed. Y A

`A further object of the invention isv to provide a device for feeding the food through a tube wherein the tube has no'restriction placed therein, and by means Vof which the possibility of clogging is reduced toa minimum.

A further object of the invention is'to provide an electrically controlled device, whereby either the patient or the attendant may stop the food supply at any time desired.

It is a further object of the invention to construct such a device in which the tube carrying the food can 'be readily removed, and easily cleaned, so as to be kept in a more sanitary con-v dition.

Another objectrof the invention is to provide a mechanically operated food control, in which the operating mechanism does not at any time contact the food.

A structure embodying the invention is illustrated. in the accompanying drawings,l and will be hereafter fully described, the invention residing in certain novel features which will be par--Y Figure 4 is a diagrammatical view, showing the operatingmechanism and the feeding tube; and

Figure 5 is an assembled view in perspective showing the feeding apparatus in place.

Referring to the drawings in which like numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views, the food for the patient is placed in the container I6, supported on a bracket Il on the stand I2. The regulating mechanism, generally designated I3, in accordance with the invention, governs the ow of the feed through the tube I4 made of rubber, or other similar elastic material, as follows:-

rIhe regulator is enclosed in a Vcase-2li having a rear wall 2 I, preferably made of insulating material, to mount the contacts of the Various instrumentalities, and particularly to mount a rheostat 22 having a knob 23 for controlling the speed 25. The rheostat 22 may be provided with a graduated dial Y(not shown) to indicate the rate at which the food is being fed vto the patient.

, The motor 25 is mounted within the casing 26 and is controlled through a hand switch (not shown) which may be placed adjacent the patient so that either the patient or the attendant may stop the flow of food when desired.

Y The motor loperates a shaft 26 through a series of reduction gears housed in the gear box V21 and which operate a pinion 29. The pinion drives a somewhat larger gear 36, whchis keyed, or

otherwise xedly attached, to the shaft 26. AThe, Y

shaft 26 is mounted at one end in the gear box 2l and at the other end in a bearing 3i fixed to a` Wall of the casing 25. 'I'he shaft 26 hasa plurality of cams 34, 35, and 36K thereon which are held on the shaft by retainers 32, the retainers 32 being fixed to the shaft by set screws 33, or other equivalent means.

The cams 34,V 35., and 36 operate oscillating cam. rods 38, 40, and 42, which may be provided with wheels 44, 45, and 46 at the lower end thereof, to facilitate the movement of the cam thereover, the cam rods being mounted on a shaft '48 passing through alined holes 49 in the rods. The shaft -448 may be mounted in any desired manner, the mounting means being shown as a U-frame 50 bolted to the casing 20, the cam rods 3B, 40 and 42 being held in place on the shaft 48 by a plurality of spacing sleeves 5|.

The cam rods 38, 40 and 42 are bifuroated at the upper end, each having a pair of arms 52, as shown in Figures l, 2, andV 4. The arms 52 contact pins 53, 54, and 55 in the stop members 51, 58 and 60 for actuating the stop members and controlling the iiow of fluid through the tube I4.

The stop members extend. acrosshthe casing 2U and pass through the casing wall 20 on one side at the front thereof and through the back 2| at the other end of the stop. The ports through which the stops pass in the front and in the back of the casing form guides for the movement of the stop members. The stop members are provided with enlargements 64 which abut the peripheries of the ports in the front wall and permit a portion of the stop members to pass out through the front wall and contact the tubing I4 to completely close and compress the tubing to effect the flow of food therethrough.

Springs 54 are mounted about the reduced end portions E6 of the stop members and rest against plates 1U at one end and against a strip 1I which is fastened on the wall to give additional bearing surfaces to the wall. It has been --found to possess a great advantage to have the springs 64 effect the positive closing and to effect the opening of the stop members by means of the cams. This construction permits variations in the cams not possible if the cams were to close the tube, and the spring used to open it.

The feeding tube I4 is mounted in a rectangular passage or housing 15 which is held to the casing 20 in any convenient manner. While the passage or housing 15 is herein shown as removably mounted on the casing 2B, there is nothing within the broad scope of this invention to preclude the housing 15 from being a fixed part of the casing. The width of the housing 15 is approximately one-half the circumference of the tube I4 in order that the tube can be flattened out by the stops 51, 5S and 60 to completely stop the flow of food past those points.

In operation, the stops 51, 58, and 65 cooperate with the resilient tube I4 to pump the food from the container I0 to the alimentary canal of the patient, the food entering the alimentary canal through an incision in the body and preferably although not necessarily at a point beyond the stomach of the patient.

The cams 34, 35, and 36 are arranged so that one stop member 51, 58, or 6l] is always closed to prevent the free flow of food to the patient in the event that the container I0 is above the level of the outlet end of the tube and the cams are preferably arranged so that the cam 35 opens after the cam 34 is completely closed. The cam 35 remains open while the cam 36 opens and closes, the dwell of the cam 35 being approximately one-half ofthe revolution thereof, although this timing may be varied to suit the particular conditions under which the apparatus operates.

To more clearly define the operation as herein disclosed, it may be assumed that the cycle commences with the stop 56 closed and both stops 58 and 6l! open. In this condition, the first stop to close would be the stop 60, which would entrap the fluid in the tube I4 between the stops 51 and 6D and leave them under their normal pressure. The stop 58 would then close on the tubing I4 and decrease the volume thereof to a limited extent. The tubing is therefore placed under a tension so that when the stop 51 opens, the tension in the tubing is relieved, and a quantity of food represented by one-half in volume in the tube I4 between the stops 51 and 58 flows downward into the stomach of the patient. The stop 51 then closes and the stop 58 opens increasing the volume in the tube I4 between the stops 51 and 6U to its normal capacity. Since a certain quantity of fluid has owed out of the space between the stops 51 and 50, when the stop 51 was open, the entire volume between the stops 51 and 6|] is at a lower pressure than the liquid in the remainder of the tube. When the stop 69 then opens the tendency is to suck in liquid into the tube I4 between the stops 51 and 60. The cycle is repeated to provide a drop by drop positive feed to the alimentary canal of the patient.

It will be noted particularly that the tubing I4 is relatively small, and in fact is small enough so the food will not freely run out of the tube by gravity as long as it is held closed at the top. The feeder is therefore free from' the action of gravity, and the container I0 may be placed at any convenient point, either above or below the outlet end of the tube, the quantity pumped being practically independent of the position of the container IIJ and depending solely on the speed of the motor 25.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that there has been provided a relatively simple device adapted to feed food to the stomach of a patient, and that since the device acts to positively pump the fluid, in very small quantities, that it may be used for other analogous purposes, such as draining of wounds, and it will also be apparent that the device is susceptible to various changes and modifications, falling well Within scope of one skilled in the art, and it is not therefore desired to limit the invention to the precise form herein shown and described, but only by the scope of the appended claims.

It is obvious that two or more tubes, as indicated at I4, may be employed to function at the same time, or a single tube having a plurality of channels may be employed. Also, while the device has been specifically disclosed as a dropfeeding mechanism, it is apparent that it may be employed as a suction device for extracting iiuids from the body.

I claim:-

1. A medical device comprising in combination a housing having a tubular compartment at one side thereof open at both ends and adapted to receive an elastic tube and permit the same to extend outwardly at both ends for connection with supply and discharge tubes, rst, second and third stop members mounted within said housing and extending through spaced openings in the walls of said compartment to engage said elastic tube, operating mechanism within said housing for moving said stop members into and out of said compartment including cams so timed that said first stop member is never opened when said third stop member is opened and said second stop member is closed only when said first stop member is closed.

2. In a medical device of the character described, an elastic tubing, a casing surrounding said tubing and through which said tubing passes, a first stop member contacting said tubing, means on said stop member constantly urging the stop member into engagement with said tubing, t0 completely close said tubing to the flow of fluid therepast, means periodically rendering said last named means inoperative to permit the flow of fluid past said stop members, a second stop member mounted in said casing, means on said second stop member constantly urging said second stop member into engagement with said tubing to completely close the tubing to the flow of fluid therepast, means periodically rendering said last named means ineffective, a third stop member, means on said third stop member constantly urging said third stop member into engagement with said tubing to compress fluid trapped between said first and second stop members, when said first and second stop members are both in their 75 stop position, means rendering said last named means ineiective and permitting the flow of fluid past said third stop member, and means to successively actuate said three stop members to pump liquid through said tube. Y

3. A medical device of the character described comprising a box containing a variable speed moconi-lne' said rubber tube adjacent to said arms and in position to be compressed thereby said housing having openings in its Walls through Which said arms extend, said arms comprising two outside arms and an intermediate arm and said motor device being adapted to maintain one of said outside arms in engagement with said tube at all times when said other outside arm is 

